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Joseph Kesselring’s dark comedy classic
still delivers its lethal dose of laughs

Kat Fitzpatrick, Mark Holley, and Amy Dell

Joseph Kesselring’s Arsenic and Old Lace, now revived by Coronado Playhouse, was a sensation when it opened on Broadway in 1941, running for more than 1,400 performances. Eighty-five years later, done as a period piece, most of the humor holds up beautifully in this silly but lovable dark comedy.

Anya Bella Veach and Paul Bonner

Mortimer Brewster (Paul Bonner) returns to his aunts’ Brooklyn home, in part to propose to his girlfriend Elaine (Anya Bella Veach), who lives next door. He is already aware that his brother Teddy (Mark Holley) believes himself to be Teddy Roosevelt, which everyone plays along with, but he soon discovers that his seemingly sweet aunts, Abby and Martha (Kat Fitzpatrick & Amy Dell), have a very unusual secret. As his alarm over the strange events at their home increases, Mortimer’s dangerous-looking criminal brother Jonathan (Steven Jensen) suddenly returns. Jonathan and his accomplice, Dr. Einstein (Joseph Vitti), create even greater chaos for our hero. Jonathan’s appearance is especially troubling because he has undergone plastic surgery to change his face, making him difficult to recognize. Much of the fun comes from Mortimer’s struggles to keep his family’s eccentric behavior under control while trying to arrange his new life with Elaine and keep her from knowing what’s going on.

Kat Fitzpatrick, Mark Holley, and Amy Dell

Before an actor ever enters, scenic designer Kyle Waterman takes us back in time with a lovely Victorian home set, including staircases (to an unseen second floor) that are used frequently, particularly when Teddy thinks he’s charging up a hill in battle. Kira Blaskovich gently directs the opening scene between the aunts and their neighbor Reverend Harper (James Flaherty) in such a way as to set the tone of an older world, where appearances and propriety are paramount. The Reverend, who is Elaine’s father, disapproves of Mortimer being a theatre critic because elements of the theatre community could rub off on him. Once the standards of the times and the neighborhood are established, the lunacy that comes to follow is all the sweeter for the contrast.

Steven Jensen and Joseph Vitti

Bonner does a terrific job of bringing out the fun in all the stress Mortimer endures, as well as adding a good deal of welcome physical comedy. Fitzpatrick and Dell each delightfully embody the old-fashioned morals of their generation in opposition to all that is going on around them. Jensen most ably captures the creepiness needed for us to find disgust in Jonathan. But the jewel of the cast comes in a relatively new face to San Diego: Vitti is a magnificent clown who becomes all we can look at in the right moments—without drawing attention when it shouldn’t be on him. His performance demonstrates both outstanding physical tomfoolery and how far one can push silliness in character development without going too far or stealing focus.

Mark Holley, Kat Fitzpatrick, Amy Dell, and Paul Bonner

The full ensemble does, at times, reveal itself as community theatre; energy dips in a few places and performances occasionally flag—though that could also be opening-night jitters that will tighten up. There was solid laughter as the play’s secrets were revealed, even if, by no fault of the actors, some references are so old that lines that likely got laughs in 1941 yielded crickets. (It’s forbidden to change any lines in a script, but if my plays are ever produced 85 years from now, I pray someone will update archaic references such that audiences in 2111 will get them.) But these are small details that won’t keep you from enjoying a marvelous script with some outstanding moments throughout the performance.

Amy Dell and Steven Jensen

Kesselring originally intended to tell this story as a drama, not a comedy, but was convinced by peers that there was a great deal that could be done with the story to make it a comedic hit—and we reap the benefits of his having listened. It was an excellent selection by CPH to revive this classic, of which I cannot find a single major staging in San Diego since the 1990s. Clearly, it was due!

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photos by Ken Jacques

Arsenic and Old Lace
Coronado Playhouse
Coronado Playhouse, 1835 Strand Way in Coronado
Fri at 7; Sat at 2 & 7; Sun at 2
1 hour 45 minutes, with intermission
ends on September 6, 2026
for tickets ($30), call 619.435.4856 or visit Coronado Playhouse

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